


Unexpected Shelter

by immortalpramheda



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/M, Praimfaya | Radiation Wave
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-04-26 05:54:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14395707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/immortalpramheda/pseuds/immortalpramheda
Summary: Clarke and Bellamy head out in search of something that may help them survive the death wave, but black rain unexpectedly hits and they find shelter in an unexpected place.





	1. Chapter 1

Bellamy watches as Clarke unfolds a map up ahead. She stops as she reads it which gives him a chance to catch up to her. There is such determination in her eyes, an unshakable necessity to find what she’s looking for.

 

The sun has only just risen and she was adamant to head out at first light, to find the marked location from the old map they were sent down to Earth with.

 

She found the map while she was looking through bags of supplies, procrastinating on writing the list. There were important things she needed to be doing, and yet when Bellamy came to check on her, she was back staring at the map.

 

It was the same map that she was so sought out on following when they first landed on the ground. That map was one of the few supplies they had in the early days. But back then they realised that things weren’t what they expected and they abandoned that mission.

 

Clarke was tired of things not going to plan, of every new spark of an idea failing. Bellamy hoped that heading out on a journey might help with the helpless feelings she was overwhelmed with.

 

“This mark… it has to be something important,” she says, turning to Bellamy. “It’s got the same red mark that Mount Weather has on it.” She points out the obvious red dots on the map. “And we know that they believed that Mount Weather was only full of supplies, they didn’t know about the people there. What if this red mark is something important? What if it’s full of supplies or something useful? What if this is our chance?”

 

Bellamy looks on at her with skepticism. He’d agreed to come with her because he knew if he didn’t she would go on her own and he wasn’t going to let that happen. “Clarke… I doubt it’s anything important. We’ve been down here for almost a year, we exhausted that whole area around the Dropship.” He circles the large area surrounding the Dropship’s location on the map with his finger. “If there _is_ something, don’t you think we would have discovered it by now?”

 

She sighs and folds up the map. “There’s a high chance that it’s nothing, I know. But I can’t sit around hopelessly. I need to do something. I _need_ to know what this mark is.”

 

Bellamy’s face softens as he firmly pulls the straps of his bag onto a comfortable position on his shoulders. “Then let’s go.”

 

They head out on their trip. Clarke is following the map so diligently, every single step she takes is based on the map. He falls behind a bit but keeps a close eye on her.

 

Bellamy brought extra rations and water just in case. The air has gotten thinner the closer they get to the death wave and sometimes it becomes difficult to breathe. He looks around at the grass and vegetation. It’s beginning to die off. The air is very slowly filling with radiation and soon enough all the plants may not be able to stay alive.

 

He is a metre behind Clarke when suddenly she bursts into a fit of coughing. He rushes over to her. “Clarke!”

 

She tries to stop her coughing but ultimately fails. “I’m fine…” she sputters between coughs. “We need to keep moving… we need to…”

 

“No,” Bellamy says firmly as he holds her shoulders to keep her steady. “You need to take a break.”

 

“But..” she argues. Even when she’s like this she’s determined to keep going.

 

He helps support her onto the ground so she’s leaning up against a tree. He gets a bottle of water and flips the top off and offers it to her. “Drink,” he orders.

 

She looks to him, still in a fit of coughing, but she takes the water and takes a swig. But she ends up coughing it all up, covering Bellamy in splashes of water.

 

He shakes the water off his arms and then takes the bottle and steadily holds it up to her mouth. “Careful,” he says, successfully getting her to take a few sips. He sits down next to her, their bodies touching.

 

There is silence for a moment and then Clarke sputters a few more times. “It must be the radiation,” she stutters between coughs, observing their surroundings. “Some of these plants I don’t recognise from around Arkadia…” She pauses, repressing another coughing fit. “The radiation must be having an effect on them which in turn has affected me for some reason.”

 

Bellamy rubs his hand on her back. She doesn’t resist his touch. It seems to help a bit and he feels her breathing become more even.

 

But then a few more coughs splutter out of her and she tries to stand up. “I'm feeling better now.”

 

Bellamy grabs her arm and pulls her back. “A few more minutes, Clarke, there’s no rush. There is still plenty of time before nightfall.”

 

She plops back down and frowns. “Less than two months,” she mumbles.

 

He looks sadly at her. “Clarke, we are doing the _best_ that we can each day.”

 

She nods but he knows she doesn’t believe him. To distract herself she begins studying the map again. Bellamy watches her eyes skim over it controllably. So much hope and determination in her eyes. She wants more than anything to figure out a way to save everyone. But he knows they most likely won’t be able to save them all, and that saddens him too.

 

But they are doing the best that they can. It’s all they can do.


	2. Chapter 2

Once Clarke has recovered from her coughing spurt, they continue walking, following the map closely. The area begins to look familiar. It’s close to where they lived for months when they were alone on the ground. The Dropship was their home. Bellamy looks out towards the right, recognising that it must be just behind the trees.

 

“Have you been back to the Dropship?” he asks as they walk.

 

Clarke turns back to look at him. “No.” She pauses and then speaks again. “We could go past there on the way back, it’s too far from this mark.”

 

He gets a weird feeling in his stomach of that thought. “It feels weird being back in this part of the ground.”

 

Clarke doesn’t answer, she keeps walking as she follows the map.

 

A cool breeze begins to wash over them as the sky darkens. Dark grey clouds. A shiver runs through his body. He knows what it could be, but he has to hope that it’s not.

 

“Looks like a storm is coming,” Bellamy yells ahead to her.

 

Clarke stops and looks up. “We better hurry then.”

 

She picks up the pace and Bellamy has to run to catch up to her. “Clarke, slow down.”

 

A loud burst of thunder suddenly strikes and they both jump at the sound. Bellamy rushes up to Clarke and takes her arm.

 

“I think we should set up the chem tent, that will protect us from the rain,” he says. “And let’s hope it’s just regular rain.”

 

He can tell that Clarke wants to continue but then she looks up to the sky and concedes. “You’re right.”

 

Bellamy takes his backpack off and begins to get the tent out. There is silence between them, but he knows what they’re both thinking. What if it isn’t regular rain? They had a false alarm a few days ago, but maybe this will be the real thing.

 

As he is about to start putting the tent up, the rain begins. A few drops at first, which feel normal, actually quite refreshing. Clarke begins to help him with the tent but then the rain gets heavier. They quickly realise that their fears have been answered and it is not normal rain.

 

A drop hits Bellamy on his exposed hand and it stings. A large red welt appears. “Ouch… black rain.”

 

A few drops have hit Clarke and caused some red welts to appear on her face. She instinctively puts her hood up and pulls Bellamy’s up too. They move underneath a tree but that doesn’t provide much shelter. She helps him unfold the tent and looks out into the distance.

 

“By the time we get this tent up the rain may have dissolved through our clothes,” she says.

 

“Clarke, this tent is our only chance!” he pleads.

 

She helps unfold the tent and they hold it above their heads. She looks at the map again, then she smiles as she looks back up at him. “There’s a place nearby we can take shelter in.”

 

Bellamy is skeptical but he trusts Clarke and her association with the map. He nods.

 

Together they hold the outstretched tent above their heads and run out into the rain. The chem tent protects the radiation soaked rain from hitting them. The rain gets heavier as they walk and it gets difficult to see through the thick mist. He trusts that Clarke’s navigation skills will get them to shelter even though he can barely see anything.

 

Clarke stops and looks down. There is a trap door on the ground. She holds the chem tent with her arms outstretched, Bellamy gets down and pulls the lever of the trap door. It’s a bit stuck and rusted and he struggles to get it to lift up. He stands back, breathing heavily.

 

“Bellamy,” Clarke yells over the now thunderous rain belting the tent above them. “You can do it!”

 

Encouraged by Clarke, he tries again. He uses all his might and eventually the door opens. He smiles at her and she smiles back. He makes sure the door is stable and is not in danger of closing, and then he stands up.

 

He puts his hands up and holds the tent. “You go down first,” he says, close to her ear so she can hear over the monstrous rain.

 

He is so close to her that he can feel her breath. She nods and lets go of the tent, leaving it for Bellamy to hold up. She sits on the edge of the hole and lowers herself down into the bunker.

 

Once he hears her reach the ground, he begins to follow. The tent covers him like a parachute as he lower himself into the bunker. He stands on the ladder a few rungs from the top and drops his backpack to the ground. He holds onto a rung firmly with one hand and then uses his other hand to gather the tent up. It bunches up and he wraps it around his hand to protect it. Now there is no protection from up above and a few rain drops fall onto his face. He yells out in pain.

 

He takes a few steps up and reaches for the trap door. His hood falls back and there is now nothing protecting his head and he yelps as rain hits it. He can feel the burns appearing on his face. He grunts as he manages to pull the door down and click it firmly into place.

 

He carefully climbs down to the ground. He doubles over and squeezes his eyes shut at the excruciating pain of the burns.

 

“Bellamy,” Clarke says.

 

He looks in her direction and his vision stars to blur. He blinks a few times but she still looks like a dreamlike figure. He suddenly feels a cool sensation. Clarke has her hands on his face.

 

“We need to get water onto the burns,” she says. She takes a piece of fabric and submerges it the bowl of water she is holding. “Hold this on your face.”

 

He takes it and squeezes his eyes shut as he holds the soaked fabric to his face. It’s cooling but it also stings. He fells a pull on his back.

 

“I’m going to take your jacket off okay?” Clarke says. “I need to check your arms.”

 

He alternates the arm holding the fabric to allow her to get his jacket off. He lowers the fabric and looks at her. His hands start to sting and he looks down and sees that she has submerged his hands in the bowl of water. His face contorts in pain.

 

Clarke looks up at him and gives a sympathetic smile. “I know it stings.” She examines his arms. “You’ve got a few burns on your arms too, the rain melted through your jacket.”

 

He looks at his arms and sees the red marks covering them. His jacket lying on the floor has little holes all over it.

 

“How’s your face?” she asks, squinting at him.

 

“Better,” he says. It sill stings and hurts to talk, but it’s not burning like it was before.

 

She takes the wet fabric and runs it over his arms. A cooling sensation overcomes his body and he lets out a sigh.

 

He looks at her face and notices some burn marks on her cheeks. He reaches out to her. “You have burns too.”

 

She keeps her head down and concentrates on his arms. “Not as bad as yours.”

 

“Clarke," he says as he takes the wet fabric out of her hands. He brushes her hair out of her face. He dips the fabric into the bowl of water and rings it out, then runs it carefully over her face. She doesn’t resist.

 

After a minute, Clarke takes the fabric back. “I’m fine. Really, Bellamy, your burns are _much_ worse than mine.” She takes his arm and leads him over to the bed.

 

He collapses down onto it and leans against the wall. Clarke comes and sits next to him. She runs the wet fabric over his face again. His vision is still a bit blurry but things begin to gradually get clearer.

 

“Okay,” she says, dropping the fabric into the bowl of water and standing up. “I’ll leave it for now, but we may need to deal with them again.”

 

He nods and looks around the bunker. It looks familiar but he can't quite remember why. “What is this place?"

 

She gives a subtle grin. “Art Supply Store,” she says. “At least, that’s what Finn used to call it.”

 

He hasn’t heard that name in a long time, he’s surprised to hear it come out of her mouth. “Finn…” That triggers the memory. He glances over towards the table and it all comes back to him.

 

Clarke turns and notices the dried blood on the floor. “You were here when he…” she breathes. She rushes over and covers it with a rug. As she crouches down she looks back to him giving him a knowing glance.

 

Satisfied that they won’t see the blood anymore, she gets up and comes back over to him. They sit there listening to the pounding rain up above.

 

“I’m not thrilled about being here either, but I knew there was a chance it was still standing,” she says.

 

“Better than being up there,” he says, forcing a smile.

 

She turns her attention back to where she covered up the dried blood. “That seems like a lifetime ago. So much has happened, so much has changed since then.”

 

Bellamy turns to her and pushes himself more upright. “I know. I don’t even remember life before we were on the ground, and now it’s being taken away from us.”

 

“I’m sorry,” she says, tears starting to glisten her eyes. “We knew the black rain was due any day now and I made you come on this _stupid_ mission with me to find something that will probably be nothing.”

 

“Clarke, you’ve done so much already,” he says, placing his hand on her thigh.

 

She wipes some tears away. “But what if it’s not enough.” She looks up at him with bloodshot eyes. “Bellamy, if we don’t find a way…”

 

“No,” he says sternly, cutting her off. “We’re going to find a way. We _always_ do.” He’s not going to give into that mentality. He’s not giving up, and he knows that neither is she.

 

She doesn't seem convinced by what he’s said. She looks up to him and her eyes soften, full of sadness. She reaches up and brushes her hand down his face, over his burns, soothing them.

 

"Clarke," he says softly, watching her face.

 

Her eyes flutter as she looks deep into his eyes. She moves her head up and presses her lips to his. He doesn’t have to time to register what’s happening, it all happened so fast, he just lets his whole being melt into the kiss.

 

Clarke pulls away and looks up at him with something he hasn’t seen before in her eyes, a side of her she’s kept hidden from him.

 

“Clarke,” he starts, not sure how to continue after what just transpired.

 

She presses her lips together, suddenly looking a little shy. “We may not have much time left.”

 

He doesn’t know how to respond, how to vocalise all these feelings he’s had towards her since the moment they met. She just kissed him out of the blue. Well, not out of the blue, he can sense she feels the same as he does. Their need for each other was too strong.

 

“Are you hungry?” she asks. “I'll get us some food. You just stay there and rest.”

 

Bellamy doesn’t have time to respond when Clarke rushes away from him and crouches down at their packs and gets some rations of food out.

 

She walks back and hands him a portion of food and then begins to walk away. He grabs her hand and pulls her back. She looks down and reluctantly sits back down next to him.

 

They silently eat their food and listen to the rain overhead which is still thundering. Bellamy notices Clarke’s struggling to keep her eyes open. She does look exhausted. She has had so much on plate and had gotten barely any sleep lately, he knows that for a fact.

 

He puts his arm around her shoulder, slowly, carefully, making sure it’s not too much. “You should get some sleep, you deserve it.” He pauses as there is a loud burst of thunder. “And besides, we can’t go anywhere until the rain stops.”

 

She gives a big yawn. “You’re right, I am exhausted.”

 

Bellamy begins to get up to allow her to sleep on the bed, but she pulls him back down. “You need to sleep too.”

 

He hesitates but then relaxes back onto the bed. Clarke snuggles into his shoulder, finding a comfortable position. She looks up at him.

 

“You really think we stand a chance?” she asks tiredly.

 

“We’ve survived so much since being down here,” he says calmly, rubbing his hand on her shoulder soothingly.

 

“But this death wave seems impossible to beat…” she trails off, giving another big yawn.

 

He watches her as she drifts off to sleep. He can’t remember the last time she looked this peaceful, if ever. She’s had so many people looking to her to make the hard decisions. So many expectations have been placed on her. It must be incredibly draining, it’s not hard to see why she is so exhausted.

 

He too is exhausted. Clarke’s even breathing and peaceful nature is contagious and he ends up drifting off to sleep too.


	3. Chapter 3

Bellamy blinks his eyes a few times and takes in his surroundings. At first he is disoriented and doesn’t recognise where he is. But as his vision sharpens he remembers. He turns and finds Clarke sitting at the table with a notebook in her hand. He watches her and her careful pencil movements.

 

“What time is it?” he asks groggily.

 

“Good morning sleepyhead,” she says, slightly startled, but she gives a small smile. She closes the notebook she was writing in.

 

He pushes himself up into a sitting position and pulls the blanket off of himself. He feels his face and the blisters seemed to have healed significantly.

 

Clarke comes over and places her hands on his face. “Your burns are so much better.” She takes his hands and examines them.

 

He looks over her. “So are yours.”

 

They’re so close, like they were last night and he cant help but want to be even closer. He pulls her down towards him gently and hesitates when he can feel her breath. But she doesn’t resist. She closes her eyes. He feels something surge through her body as he kisses her. Gentle, like yesterday. He pulls away and without a word they part.

 

She helps him up off the bed. “You were asleep for a while and I didn’t want to wake you. I managed to get the radio to work and let my mother know that we’re okay.”

 

He’s relieved to hear that. He gestures towards the table. “What were you writing?”

 

She glances over there nervously. “Oh, nothing important,” she says with a strange tone in her voice. “I think we should abandon mission on the map and head back to Arkadia. We’ve already been away for too long, and we don’t want to get caught in the black rain again.”

 

He gives a small smile. “That didn’t end up being too bad.”

 

She gives a shy smile and her cheeks blush. She looks away. “No, it didn’t.” She heads into the back storeroom of the bunker and yells back to him. “I’ll see if there are any more supplies we can take with us. I found a few art supplies while you were asleep.”

 

She disappears into the back room. Bellamy walks over to the table and picks up the notebook that Clarke was writing in. There is a purple pencil sitting next to it. He checks that she is still out of sight and flicks through the book. There is writing on the most of the pages, but he stops when he gets to a page marked with purple pencil. Unlike the other pages, it’s not full of words. She wasn’t writing, she was drawing. She drew him.

 

She must have woken up long before him and to pass the time she drew him as he slept. He can’t help by smile at that thought. The detail in the drawing is incredible, it takes his breath away and makes him feel all fuzzy inside. Unfortunately, due to their current circumstances she doesn’t get much time to be artistic. He closes the book and leaves it on the table so that Clarke doesn’t know he looked thorough it.

 

He can’t wipe the smile off his face as he continues packing up all their stuff. He’s started to put his jacket on, the one with burn holes, but he’s struggling a bit. Just then, Clarke walks back out.

 

“Here, let me help,” she says.

 

She turns him around and helps him get his arms through. It still stings a bit where the burn marks are on his arms but he tries not to show it on his face.

 

“There,” she says.

 

Once again, she is so close to him and he’s tempted to kiss her again. They’re both staring into each others eyes and he’s trying to read whether she feels the same, but she averts her eyes and turns around.

 

“I found a few things, tins and some more pencils, in the back storeroom,” she says as she’s facing away from him.

 

“Great,” he says. He watches her pack up everything, focussing on the notebook as she carefully places that into her pack.

 

He wanders around and makes sure there is nothing they’ve left behind. Clarke’s backpack looks almost too heavy for her, like she might tip over at any moment. But she seems confident enough to carry it.

 

Bellamy heads over to the ladder. “I’ll go first and then you pass me up the packs, okay?”

 

She nods, holding her pack in her arms as she glances at his on the ground.

 

He climbs up and pushes the trap door open with all his strength. Eventually it budges and a burst of cool air washes over him. He pushes it all the way up and sticks his head out. There’s an odd chemical smell outside, and the sky is a funny bluish red colour, but apart from that everything seems fine.

 

He pulls himself up onto the ground. He lays on his stomach and reaches his arms down. Clarke manages to pass the packs up to him, and then she makes her way up the ladder. He supports her back as she climbs out.

 

Bellamy begins to close the trap door. “We got everything?”

 

Clarke nods as she dusts herself off. “I think so.”

 

Bellamy slams the door shut and stands up straight. He watches Clarke trying to get her pack onto her back. She’s struggling. It looks way too heavy for her.

 

He takes his off and drops it to the ground. “Clarke, transfer some stuff into my pack,” he says.

 

She keeps trying to get it onto her back. “No, it’s fine.”

 

She is so stubborn, always trying to bite more than she can chew. She always been that way, ever since he’s known her.

 

“I’m serious, Clarke,” he says sternly. “Put some of the tins and heavy items into my pack.”

 

She turns to him and lets her pack fall to the ground. She unzips a pocket and begins taking some stuff out. He notices her take the notebook out and hold it tightly and she gets other things out from under it. Then she carefully puts the notebook back in and zips it up.

 

Bellamy stuffs the items into his pack and pulls it onto his back. It’s heavy, but he can handle it. Clarke now seems more comfortable and able to handle the weight.

 

“You sure yours isn’t too heavy now?” she asks, her brows furrowed like they do when she feels guilty.

 

“It’s fine,” he says. “Don’t worry about me.”

 

They begin to walk, along the dying grass and vegetation. Back towards the only place they now know to be home, but won’t be for much longer. They walk side by side and don’t say a word. It’s not awkward, they just don’t have anything to say. And besides, they are both content with the quiet, only the sound of the chirps of the few birds that are left in this area.

 

Clarke is eventually the one to break the silence. “Bellamy,” she says, turning to him. “Can we… keep what happened between us? At least until we figure out a way to survive.”

 

He looks at her, her eyes full of sadness and helplessness. He understands completely. They have a lot to do and can’t let their feelings for each other get in the way.

 

He doesn’t say anything, he just smiles and takes her hand. She smiles back at him, the first time he’s seen her genuinely smile in what seems like a lifetime. She’s beautiful when she smiles, it brings out the dimples and the crinkle in her nose. For once, she seems relatively at peace.

 

They walk hand in hand back to Arkadia, hopeful that maybe they will find a way to survive and the possibilities of what could happen if they do.


End file.
